3D Printed (and Laser Cut) Stamp

Challenge: For student who had worked on previous projects to produce a working stamp for a design business (for an adult).   The print was divided into two parts - the stamp itself was produced by using a laser cutter (which is onsite at our school) to cut specifically the stamp design.   The base and the handle of the stamp were then custom made and produced using a 3D Printer.

Background: This student had considerable experience with 3D Printing in the past, and had produced a number of projects in the past, which have been used as prints and examples on this site.   With this print the student was very pro-active in using the printer.   They had the entire design in mind, and having previously seen the examples produced using just a 3D Printer (featured here on this blog) the student was keen to use rubber specific to the task.  We had previously ordered some of this from a commerical supplier located in New Zealand.    Once the component parts were put together the design followed.   The entire project was completed in a morning at school, the time involved with the design was minimal and the results, when used with an ink pad, were extremely positive.    A very successful project.

Degree of Difficulty: The key aspect of this was the collection of the required gear specific to the print.   The stamp specific print has produced a nearly professional quality print which is much more even than the paint and print versions that have been created directly by 3D Printer (see posts about this on this blog).   The actual print for the base of the stamp and the handle was extremely straightforward, just a basic rectangle increased in size to mount the stamp and a handle to.

Size: The base of the stamp is a rectangale 13cm across, 2cm thick and six centimetres long.   The handle part of the stamp extended a further 5cm from its base.   

Timeframe: Three and a half hours to print the base, the laser cutting of the stamp from the rubber took less than fifteen minutes.   Given the goal of the post/project this was an excellent result.

What we would do differently: This was a student driven project that was created with a specific goal in mind, was student driven and completed and the teacher had minimal input into the process.

The completed design, used with stamp ink was able to produce the stamp shown on the left when combining the 3D Print with rubber.

3D Printed Projects: Various Updates

Left: Stationary Holder.   These prints have been attempted and completed before and a number have featured on this blog.   This student designed an original one using basic geometric shapes.  During this process when the printer was in operation and the print was being produced the print 'slipped' producing an effect which is shown left where the layers of the print instead of being smooth were layered.  The student concerned felt that the result (which still worked perfectly despite the appearance) was exceptional, so much so he was keen to try and replicate it (which is not been possible as it always been an accident when occurred and at times has wrecked the print.  This was a major print of significant time - twenty six hours by a ten year old who is developing his 3D Printing Skills.   No further changes needed.

Left: Name Tag/Badge/Key Ring.   These objects have been detailed significantly in the past on this site and can be located by the label menu on the left.    This one was particular pleasing as it was the students first ever 3D Print and there was really positive composition and layout to the print.   The print design was relatively straightforward with some peer mentoring and the student was thrilled with the result.   No further development required a two hour print with the regular settings (4mm nozzle/20% infill for).

Left: Signs for Market Day.   One of the recent significant projects is for a Market Day taking place this coming week.   One group of students are producing inspirational signs on stained wood, where the lettering on the signs has been 3D Printed.   The students are still experimenting with the font size and appearance but some of the developed signs are shown on the left.   This process has been previously detailed on the blog.    The lettering typically is 45mm high and 5mm thick with two hours a sign print time.

 Left: 3D Print Stamp results.   Previously on this blog students have identified and created a stamp by 3D Printing.   This prototype has undergone significant development as we have identified that we can Laser Cut the Rubber and order it online to produce a quality finish close or as good as a commerical stamp.   In this example shown a 3D Printed stamp, detailed here, has been used with regular poster paint (not ink) to produce this image.